Microsoft 365 Companion Apps Are Being Retired

Microsoft revealed that the Microsoft 365 companion apps for Windows 11 that it introduced last year will be retired by December 16.

“Microsoft will retire the Microsoft 365 companion apps–Calendar companion, People companion, [and] Files companion–on December 16th 2026,” the Microsoft Learn site explains. “The companion apps were provided at no extra cost with eligible Microsoft 365 or Office 365 licenses.”

Microsoft announced its Files and People companion apps in March 2025, and it added the Calendar companion app two months later. And then it inevitably integrated Copilot into each last October. The software giant described the companion apps as “mini-apps,” and each runs in a small portrait-mode window similar to a phone screen.

It’s unclear why Microsoft even created these apps, as they’re just subsets of capabilities available in other standalone Microsoft 365 apps. And even the retirement announcement does little to justify their existence, noting only that they are “an additional way to find calendar information, people, and files.”

Don’t wait for December 16, as Microsoft notes that the companion apps will be “fully retired and non-functional” before that date. And the admins who oversee managed organizations can choose to remove them at any time. Microsoft even provides a starter email template for admins who need to communicate this change to their users.

“For calendar and people information, use Outlook and Teams,” Microsoft suggests to those who will miss the companion apps. “For files, use Windows Search Box, File Explorer, SharePoint, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. You can also use Copilot, even when you only remember a few details about what you’re looking for.”

What a ridiculous waste of time.